When the skeletons are taken care of we enter the ruin. As I close the door I tell her, "I really need a bow.". Serana nods in agreement and promises, "As soon as we're in the castle I'll get you one, I swear on my grave.". I throw her a quizzical look and ask, "Was that a joke?". Serana rolls her eyes and says, "Let's just get this over with.". I sheath my claws and tell her, "There's the sarcastic and depressing woman I know.". Serana once again rolls her eyes and I consider making a joke about them rolling right out of her skull, but think better of it and just begin walking down the stairs. The vampire beside me looks around, telling me, "I use to play in here as a child. It's different now, but back then a vampire was all that was needed to scare the rats away. It was actually pretty lonely.".
I stop to temporarily adjust my armor, the pieces of fur offering next to no protection. I make a mental note to ask Serana to get me some more armor, but for now I focus on her comment. I gingerly ask her, "You talk about being lonely a lot, do you still feel that way?". I look up to see the vampire eyeing me as she says, "Not as much.". As I stand she asks me, "What about you?". My ears perk as I question, "Do you mean am I lonely?". When she nods I consider the question, and answer as honestly as I can, "I've never really had a friend, but I think I'm getting one.". Then, I begin walking about. Serana trots right beside me, but keeps questioning me, "There's really nobody else in your life? Come on, there has to be. A strapping young man or faithful companion.". I chew my lip and tell her, "I had a pet cat once. He got hit by a carriage.". Serana doesn't look like she knows what to say.
However, her look tells me she doesn't believe me, and that she thinks their has to be more than a cat. I decide to humor her and reveal, "There's a vixen in Whiterun named Ysolda with hair the color of flames, and I use to dream about marrying her and finally settling down.". Serana looks pleased that I've opened up and asks, "Why didn't you? Did she like you?". The next part is embarrassing to tell, but I go ahead and say, "She wanted to become a merchant, and I decided to help her. She needed a mammoth tusk, and I used all of my money to buy her one. When I went to give it to her she was talking to this really jerky bard, and he despised me for my cowardice. I gave her the tusk and she gave me a kiss on the cheek, and I wink I didn't know how to interpret. But the bard sure seemed to know what a wink meant, and he got pissed.".
"He asked Ysolda why she was hanging out with a craven, and dangled me off the ground to remind me I weigh about as much as a child. She told him to put me down, and he did. Right into the garbage where he said I belonged. Ysolda ended up helping me from the gunk, took me back to her house to help me clean up, and apologized for how the bard acted.". Serana interrupts by saying, "Then you told her you liked her, right?". I shake my head and whisper, "No.". I strengthen my voice as I explain, "She told me to meet her tomorrow and she would give me the rest of my reward for helping her. I'm not a scholar, but I knew what was going on. I spent the next day trimming my fur, making my claws manageable, and even took a bath and used some powdery stuff on my teeth. It was suppose to make them clean and make my breath smell better, but I'm not sure if it did.".
"Then, I chopped some wood for some quick money, and bought Ysolda the best piece of jewelry I could find, some flowers that would brighten any home, and a wine older than myself. Finally, I went to Ysolda's house to finally meet her. The bard jumped me in an ally, beat the shit out of me, stole my gifts, and told me he's gut me like a fish if he saw me near Ysolda. Then, he went to her house to court her. I tried reporting the incident to the guards, but they didn't believe me. One of them just kind of winked and said he knew what kind of sex Khajiits were into. Apparently, every female Khajiit's dream is have sex rough enough to give her a black eye. When Ysolda saw me she asked what happened to me, but the bard was with her and I had to tell her I got in a bar fight.".
"Ysolda tried to keep rescheduling her reward, but I was too much of a craven to meet her. Seems I'm even a coward when it comes to love. After that, I just pushed thoughts of romance out of my mind. No woman deserves to get stuck with me.". I feel a hand touch my arm, and look up to see Serana's red eyes looking at me. She shakes her head and tells me, "It's painfully clear you're a craven, but some women would be lucky to get you.". I give her an exasperated look and ask what I've asked so many times before, "Why?". Serana looks taken aback, but easily answers, "You're smart, smart enough to realize when situations are too dangerous to handle. You have enough courage to force yourself to do things you're afraid of, which takes extreme self-control. And, you're not too shabby looking. I know looks shouldn't matter, but in this world an attractive body isn't bad to have.".
If I had blood I would be blushing, and I can't stop myself from looking at the ground. Serana raises my chin to meet her eyes again and tells me, "Come on, don't be like that. Look at the good in things. When this scrolls situation is handled I'll show you proof of the gods, and your cowardice will be washed away. Then, we'll go to Whiterun and beat the shit out of that bard. After he loses his silver tongue and manly cock, Ysolda will fall into your arms. After all this time, you'll finally get your 'reward'.". I ask her, "You really think so?". She nods and tells me, "I know so. Now come on, we have a scroll to get.". I agree, we've spent far too much time talking. The conversation was nice and made me feel closer to the woman, but we still have a job to do. As we walk I think about what we talked about. Do I even desire Ysolda? Yes, but not for the reasons I should. I want a wife to grow old with me, and one who would treat me like an equal.
Ysolda was pretty and made a brief pass at me, so I decided I wanted her. But marrying her would be unfair to both of us, and we might not even like each other. Overall, I guess I've decided that I shouldn't pursue her. No real loss, Ysolda is still a good woman who would help me if I needed it. However, I leave those thoughts to myself. Serana's given me a new look on my romantic life, and a small amount of courage. All of my thoughts are cut off by a growl as we leave the stairs, four death hounds charging. I stand back and prepare to watch Serana work. She takes down three hounds, but one of them reaches her. It leaps at her, forcing her to the ground. Serana screams, barely able to hold back the beast's snapping jaws that are aimed for her throat.
Serana keeps screaming, trying to force the hound away from her. I curse, panicking and trying to thick of what to do. Finally, I kick the dog as hard as I can. It's jaws instantly turn to me, then the creature bounds away from Serana. I once again try to kick it, but the monster simply grabs my leg in its jaws. The hound shakes its head as hard as it can, bringing me to the ground as I frantically swing my arms. Finally, my claws rake across the monster's face. It yelps, but only bites down harder and shakes faster. By now Serana has gotten to her feet, and grabs the beast by the collar. She yanks it off of me, twisting the dog's head until it snaps. I scuttle away, clutching my leg. My vampire companion is at my side in an instant, gently trying to peel away my hands. I hiss and keep holding on, fear practically radiating off of me. Serana shushes me and uses one hand to soothingly touch my shoulder, her other hand gently insisting I move my hands away from my wound.
It takes a minute or so of calming gestures and shushes, but I finally relent and remove my fingers. The wound is deep, my off-white bone gleaming in the torchlight. My muscles are shredded, stringy bits of meat barely clinging to my body. A huge chunk of my skin and pelt is hanging from the dead hound's mouth, the remaining skin just dangling down into the wound. My pelt around the area is soaked in blood, the black tarry substance clumping up in my golden fur. Serana hisses in empathy, gently bringing her hand down to feel the wound. She adjust my muscles a little, briefly attempts to remove the blood, and taps the bone a little. Finally, she tells me, "I'll have to use a powerful healing spell. It'll fix your wound, but you might feel a little funky for a while. That okay with you?". I easily nod, wanting this wound to heal.
Serana rubs her hands together, places them on my bone and muscles, and makes her hands light up with a bright spell. I shove my fist in my mouth and bite down, the fangs less painful than the spell. I watch as my muscles slowly cover up the bone, a thin layer of skin hiding the red meat from sight. Serana pulls her hands away, panting. Without thinking I yank her to me, my hug the only way I can think of showing gratitude. My companion stiffens at the touch, but after a few seconds awkwardly pats my back. Then, she pulls away and says, "We need to get you up and walking, it'll help the new muscles become tougher.". I nod and say, "And get the scroll.". Serana repeats, "And get the scroll.". She rises and offers me her hand, yanking me up.
Almost instantly I'm falling forward, Serana's arms the only things that keep me from breaking my nose. She throws one of my arms over her shoulder, wrapping her own arm around my side. She takes one step forward, waiting for me to do the same. I follow her lead, my injured leg still slowing me down. If it wasn't for me Serana could already be halfway to the garden, and I tell her that. She shrugs it off and tells me, "It wouldn't make sense to leave you behind. We're in this together, and if you weren't there it would be a hollow victory. Now I don't want to hear any more talk of leaving you behind. We're both going to get the scroll. Understand?". I nod, taking one more step. Serana and I might not know each other well, but it's clear to me that the vampire won't be leaving me to die any time soon. I just can't decide if that's a good or bad thing.